Cano gives Yankees walk-off win over Orioles

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- In one of the final games at Yankee
Stadium, nothing seemed more appropriate than Mariano Rivera
earning the win and the New York Yankees staging a dramatic win
in their final at-bat.

Robinson Cano delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the
ninth inning as the Yankees pulled out a dramatic 1-0 victory
over the Baltimore Orioles in the penultimate game at the
current Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

New York improved to 7-2 in its final homestand at its historic
venue, which closes after Sunday night's game. Andy Pettitte, a
key member of the four championship teams under Joe Torre will
start that one, which left him as a spectator for a well-pitched
game between New York rookie Alfredo Aceves and Baltimore's
Brian Burres.

The game came down to the last at-bat, when Derek Jeter was hit
by Jim Miller's 2-1 pitch to lead off the inning. Getting hit
apparently hurt Jeter enough that he was lifted for pinch runner
Brett Gardner.

The pitch hit Jeter in the hand, the exact same spot that
Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera hit him in the third inning on
May 22. Jeter did not miss any time and there is little doubt
that he will be in the lineup for Sunday's game.

"Obviously it doesn't feel good," Jeter said after being
X-rayed. "It's not broken."

Jeter said he will definitely play and Miller also said that it
was a pitch that got away.

"It was just a fastball that got away from me," Miller said.
"I'm not trying to hit that guy in that situation, 0-0 ballgame
in the bottom of the ninth. Sure enough, that's the one that
scored, cost us the ballgame."

Gardner stole second uncontested and Bobby Abreu looked at three
straight balls from Miller before being intentionally walked.
That brought up Alex Rodriguez, who has struggled with runners
in scoring position all season.

Rodriguez almost hit into a double play but was able to beat the
throw from shortstop Juan Castro, putting runners at first and
third.

"If we turn two, we're still playing probably," Walker said.
"Came down to one pitch and, unfortunately, I was on the losing
end of it."

It was Cano's third career walk-off hit but, considering how his
week started, it might have been his biggest. He was benched
Monday for not backing up Jason Giambi on Sunday and is now
7-for-14 in his last four games since changing some of his
hitting mechanics with hitting coach Kevin Long.

"I feel much better," Cano said. "I'm swinging at better
pitches. I stay back and that's what I'm doing right now."

"It's great for him," Girardi said. "Obviously, we're seeing
the benefits of him making an adjustment at home as he's
hitting, and Kevin Long and Robby got together and came up with
an idea and it's a huge hit for Robby."

The comeback made a winner out of Rivera, who will pitch the
ninth inning Sunday. Rivera struck out Alex Cintron to end the
top of the inning.

It also enabled the Yankees to stave off elimination from the
wild card race. New York (83-71) is 6 1/2 games behind the
Boston Red Sox with seven games remaining.

"Our goal is to win every game no matter what the situation is,"
Girardi said. "We have to win a game tomorrow, that's the
bottom line."

Rivera's performance came after Aceves continued to make a
favorable impression. A year removed from the Mexican League
and making just his third career start, Aceves allowed five hits
in six innings, walking three and striking out three.

Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte bridged the gap to Rivera. Bruney
put two on in the seventh and Marte tossed a hitless eighth.

Baltimore appeared that it would strike first as Brian Roberts
led off with his career-high 51st double. Aceves saved further
damage by fielding Adam Jones' popped-up bunt and turning it
into a double play.

"There's a lot of things that this young man does right,"
Girardi said. "Just besides throwing strikes and having good
stuff, he takes care of the other parts of the game, too."

Aceves' day ended at 91 pitches after he left runners at first
and second in the sixth.

Burres filled in for the injured Cabrera and was equally as
sharp. He escaped a two-out jam in the fourth and stranded
Rodriguez at first in the seventh before Miller struck out two
in the eighth.